House of Heirs by S. E. Gutierrez (color ebook reader txt) 📕

The Captain stormed through the halls until he reached the throne room. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the king and queen were not only alone, but that they were safe. Taking a few deep breathes, he explained everything. When he finished, the king told him to find his son, and escort him to the throne room. Nodding, Sam bolted. He gave up op trying to be discrete as he flew down the halls. There was no telling where Johnthan would be. The Captain checked every room in the prince's chambers, the library, the kitchen. Everywhere. That is, everywhere except for the one place he prayed he wouldn't be. 

Braun stomped down the halways, hoping that what he feared wasn't true. He burst through Ceralynn's door, nearly knocking it off the frame. Johnathan and Cera were in the middle of a card game, laughing and hollering. Without thinking, Sam launched himself at Cera, dragging her out of her chair and onto the floor. She screamed, and Johnathan struggled to drag him off of her. She managed to flip Sam over, straddling him and nearly choking him. Sam saw the gears turning in her head as she remembered who she was. She leapt off of him, her eyes wide, and dashed through the door. Sam jumped up, deciding to drag Johnathan to his parents and hunt down Cera later. 

"What in the blazes was that about?" Johnathan snarled.

"She's the Assassin Princess, John. She's here to kill." Sam replied, his voice cold and even.

Johnathan's eyes were wide, his mouth gaping open. "Throne room," he murmured. "She's probably headed to the throne room."

In an instant, the two of them were flying down the hall, dashing through servants' passages, anything to beat Cera to the king and queen. They raced by baffled servant, nearly knocked over frightened coutiers coming out of their rooms to ask about the commoiton, and pushed themselves as fast as they could to get to the royals. Together, they burst through the throne room doors. Too late, Sam thought when he saw a dark haird figure approaching the Queen. She turned to glance at him, a girl who was most certainly not Cera. The deadly spark in her eye, however, was a family trait.

 Cera took a right turn, and made it to the throne room. She prayed she was in time. No one was going to get credit for her kill, especially not her. Cera's cousin was devious, cold, and undeserving. Unlike Cera, her loyalties were to whoever would get her to the top the fastes. Cera was loyal to her father, the one who put this plan in action, the one who was going to make her Queen of Tallirey. She was the Assassin Princess, no one was going to steal her kill.

Cera came through the already open throne room doors and flew at her cousin, Lianna the Cold. "You're rather early, wouldn't you say Cousin?"

"Better early than late, Cousin." Lianna spat, pulling a razor sharp hairpin out of her elaborate updo. 

Lianna sought to skewere Cera's eye, but Cera was quick. She was up and running, racing around the throne room looking for a suitable weapon. She spied the slender knife strapped to the Captain's thigh and snarled. She launched herself at him like a lionness pouncing on a fleeing gazelle. She slid the knife out of his sheath and forcefully planted it in his thigh before she attacked Lianna. With a blood-curdling scream, she pounced. Her cousin, however, was just as deadly quick as she was. The two fought like skilled dancers, leaping, dodging, and striking with grace and accuracy. They were too distracted to see the royal family escape, and Sam hobble over to the wall. Pulling the golden cord, Sam collapsed as heavy metal sheets descended, covering all exits.

Cera turned to snarl at him. Lianna took her break in focus to stab Cera in the shoulder and dash out of the neares window before the sheets locked into place. Cera cried out, pain and anger coursing through her body. She stalked over to Sam, her animlaistic stride measured and cold. Squating next to him, she dug the handle of his knife into the wound she'd inflicted. He struggled to hold in a scream.

"You're going to tell me where they went, and you're going to tell me how to get out of here. Then you're going to die." her voice held none of the sarcasm and sass Sam had come to be fond of. 

"Kill me," he spat. "Because I'll die before I sell them out."

A viscious grin spread across her face. "Pleasure." she said, and struck.

She wandered around the room, her eyes searching for anything that could lead out. She tugged on the cord she'd seen Sam pull on. She pounded on the metal sheets hoping they would suddenly retreat to wherever it was they had come from. She had no such luck. Tired, angry, and trapped, she she slumped into Queen Lilica's throne. She ran her fingers over the guilt arms, and poked at the padded seat. These people had robbed her of everything. They'd killed her mother. But, she thought. When they didn't know me, they gave me everything. I was a stranger in their home, but they treated me as though I were a beloved daughter. She was confused. She'd enjoyed bickering with Same. She'd enjoyed reading together until well past midnight. She even enjoyed that twit of a prince. She glanced over at Sam's defenseless form. He was stirring and she knew she'd have to knock him out again.

Cera sighed and pulled herself out of the chair. She figured the night was over and any chance of successfully completing her mission had dissolved. She walked over to Sam just as he cracked open his eyes. She admired their color, an interesting shade made of shards of green, silver, and brown. She gave a set of curtains a violent tug and stripped them of their trimmings. She bound the Captain with gold cording. He had a dazed look on his face. Probably from the blood-loss. Without thinking, she tied a tourniquet around his thigh, just aboze the deep gash. 

"Get away from me!" his voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. 

"Sit still!" Cera grumbled as he tried to wriggle away. "I said to sit still!"

Sam finally complied. "You lied." he murmured.

"No," Cera said, defensive. "No, I just forgot."

The Captain sighed through his nose. "I thought you were pretty," he confessed. "That's why I was so wary of you. You were pretty, and new, and smart, and so many things." he paused. "I was a fool."

Cera didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything. Just kill him, she thought though she knew she couldn't. He'd played her game. He'd been sarcastic and rude and kind and he read. She'd only been there for a few days, and already she knew he was a kindred soul. She finished his tourniquet and went back to banging on the walls. He continued to talk, mindless ramblings of a man on the verge of death. It stopped her from focusing, stopped her from thinking rationally. Every time she thought of him dying, something pulled at her heart. She forced the feelings down. She was the Assassin Princess, and she would not develop affection for the Captain of the Guard Elite. 

Stuck in her own thoughts, she didn't notice the Captian's sudden silence. At least, not until he'd wrapped the same trim she'd used to gag and bind him around her throat. Fury surged within her and she jerked forward, causing the Captain to lose his balance and let go of the makeshift noose. She whirled around and jabbed two fingers into his wound. He screamed, landing hard on his left side. She straddled him, holding his knife against his throat.

"Try that again." she threatened.

"Kill me." he retorted.

Cera pressed the knife harder against his throat. "Shame," she purred. "To waste such a perfectly good looking man would be positively sinful." 

"Too bad," he shot. "That means I'll have to kill you instead."

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and jerked her hair back. Cera howled and struggled to detatch his hand. He took her lack of defense to jam the heel of his hand against her already crack ribs. A sickening crunch rang through the room and Cera curled in on herself. Searing pain turned her vision red. She felt like she couldn't breathe. Every time she tried to suck in air, her side felt like it was on fire. She was vaguely aware of the metal panels sliding up into the ceiling and the Captain snaking the knife out of ehr hand. She couldn't stop him. She could barely move. The only thing she could do was pray that Lianna hadn't killed anyone yet.

 Captain Braun sprinted out of the throne room. He had to find the royals. He had to. The early morning sun streamed in through the windows as he raced through the castle. He searched everywhere; down every hall, in every room, in every closet. There was no sign of the greatest rulers in Tallirey. Sam was becoming desperate. He'd ran through almost every corridor in the entire structure, and still there was nothing. He paused, catching his breath. Then he heard it. He heard Queen Lilica's firey retorts. He bolted in that direction. He was unprepared for what he saw.

He'd expected to see the royal family backed into a corner with Lianna the Cold skewering them with that deadly harpin of hers, but instead he saw the opposite. Queen Lilica had managed to confiscate the pin and was gearing up to ram it into the throat of the Cold Assasin. He dashed into the room, readied the hilt of his knife, and landed a solid blow to Lianna's temple. It wasn't enough to kill her, but it guaranteed a rather obnoxious headache when she awoke. He glanced at Johnathan, who ripped the tie out of the collar of his nightshirt. Using the thin leather strap, he tied the unconscious assassin's hands and hefted her onto his shoulder. He dragged her down two flights of stairs to the dungeon. He threw her into the dankest cell he could find, not bothering to untie her. He locked the door, instructing the soldier on guard to kill her if she tried to escape. Running back up the stairs, he realized he'd have to do the same with Cera. He made his was to the